Client Reviews and Testimonials

Mary has been extremely helpful. We adopted a dog about a year old and he is still a puppy in many ways. With both my husband & i working we felt we needed some expert guidance. Mary is always very professional and had a lot of good advice and tips for us. She is always very patient and we look forward to her visits. We never had a trainer before with our other dogs....but we were younger then. I would not hesitate to recommend Bark Busters or Mary for anyone thinking about a dog trainer. Permalink

Greg helped my girlfriend Elissa and I with two different dogs. Our first, a three year old border collie/black lab mix rescue named Bear, was having trouble adjusting to his new home, and we weren't sure of how to exercise leadership best. Greg walked us through basic behavioral training, and not only demonstrated clearly to us how training techniques should be applied, but really taught us how to consistently and effectively apply each individual technique. Bear was having trouble with pulling on the leash outside, jumping up on guests, disobeying commands, as well as with general anxiety within the home. Since working with Greg, Bear is now practically the perfect companion! He's very attentive, and Greg's lessons in leadership and maintenance have consistently allowed us to reinforce positive behavior. He no longer pulls on the leash, and walks soundly next to us like a dream. He used to jump on every person he met; now, it's barely ever an issue-- and what little of it is left, we're able to correct out of him. He's responsive, eager to please, and perhaps most importantly, just as loving and affectionate as he was before training. Our second, an eight year old rescue pug named Oliver, was brought into our household from his old home. His previous owner was dealing with rather complicated medical issues, and felt they were no longer able to provide Oliver with the care he deserved. Oliver transitioned into our home well, but in moving from one loving household to another, he still experienced some stress. He was eager to jump onto furniture, couldn't be left alone, and would whimper constantly if he didn't have his way. Additionally, he hadn't been trained in obedience, and we needed to learn how best to address disciplining an older dog. Greg easily walked us through the steps, and taught us a few new techniques to use to help Oliver to relax, ease into his new space, and to recognize and follow our leadership. We only just recently adopted Oliver, but after one session with Greg, we've already seen marked improvement! He no longer whines and cries, but is instead fully obedient and patient. We've been slowly teaching him new commands and tricks, which he's been responding well to. All in all, Greg has been an excellent help with both of our dogs. He's responsive and easy to coordinate with, and he always shows up eager to help. He's provided us with a number of lessons, as well as supplemental equipment, and is always willing to further recommend other products and services that may help. His lessons are easy to follow, hands on, and have always shown immediate effectiveness. We've learned a lot from him, and will definitely continue to! Permalink

I was amazed at how quickly my 2 dogs stopped barking when someone rang the doorbell and wouldn't try to run out the front door when it was open. I look forward to seeing them continue to improve. Permalink

Very knowledgeable and communicated techniques so we understood. Made us feel comfortable about how we were training so we could work with the dogs on our own. Permalink

I don't even know where to start. My husband and I adopted our then 7 month old potcake from NSAL who was fearful and reactive. This is my husband first pet and the 2nd dog I've had. At the shelter his fearfulness and re activeness wasn't as obvious, we knew we would need to work with him but we didn't realize how much until about the 2nd week we had him. I had trained my previous dog on my own and thought I could with Hunter but I quickly realized we needed help, so we got a trainer. Hunter would bark at anyone and everything, try to nip (especially visitors at home), he would whine constantly, potty training was a struggle (he was house broken but would only go on walks, not in the backyard in a specific spot), he chewed 2 pairs of shoes and a coffee table, jump on the sofa only when we weren't home, was scared of the AC or heat turning on, would pull on leash and bark at everyone and everything, and who can remember what else... So the trainer told us to give him treats ALL THE TIME..When people would come over - constant treats - during walks - constant treats - when he barks - constant treats!! TREATS TREATS TREATS.. as you could guess it didn't work. He would vomit from so many treats and it wasn't good for his health. I literally followed every instruction the trainer gave us perfectly to avoid any issues, I was crazy about it (my poor hubby!!). He and I would argue over Hunter. After about 3/4 months no real changes, living with Hunter was a nightmare and he and I didn't know what to do. We couldn't enjoy walks, have friends or family over, or enjoy our new home! I wanted a dog to bring joy to our lives, I wanted my husband to experience the love a person can have for a dog and a dog towards a person. I had such a wonderful experience with my first dog, also a rescue, that I wanted that again. Needless to say my husband was sick and tired of being sick and tired of Hunter, and honestly, I was getting there too. The shelter told us he was adopted once before and returned because the new owners couldn't deal with him, I remember thinking what a**holes would do that .. and now I was thinking of doing the same..I figured lets try one more trainer and if that doesn't work there was nothing else we could do, we could at least say we did our best. I had to convince my hubby to spend money yet again on training, not an easy thing to do! We both agreed it was the last chance. After our first session with Greg all 3 of our lives changed. I honestly can't say enough good things, he changed everything for us. Hunter is happy and healthy, and we love spending time with him. We now go on hikes, long walks, play in the back yard, have friends over, all without worrying! He went from barking whenever a guest would stand up to go to the bathroom, to waiting by the couch as they entered and then greeting them! He will never be that super friendly dog (which we are ok with) but we can have friends over and not worry. He even stayed with my parents for 2 weeks while we were out of the country and they had NO problems with him! Not to mention they always have people over their house! The best is that Hunter can relax and enjoy his life, he doesn't have to be fearful, and we are so proud to be part of the change in him. I once feared he would bite someone and we would need to put him down..That is not a worry anymore. I know how to be best pet parent for him and what he needs, my husband and I know how to help him navigate through the world. We rescued him but Greg helped us save him. I know this is a long review but we had a tough time and this was our last shot. I honestly can't thank Greg enough. The change has been incredible and it has only been a couple months, people aren't kidding when they see changes in day 1..We didn't think we would but holy cow, instantly we saw a change. And with more work the change continued. We are still working for him and will always have to but even friends say "he is a completely different dog". We finally have the happy little family we wanted. THANK YOU GREG Permalink

Peter does an AWESOME job on helping us to train Macie (a Jack Russell Terrier) that we rescued from Dumb Friends League. Macie is a sweet little dog but is very aggressive towards strangers and other dogs. Peter is doing a great job on helping us to teach Macie how to respond appropriately to other people and dogs. She still has a way to go but that is on us to be consistent and to keep teaching her what Peter is teaching us. Peter is extremely knowledgeable in dog behaviour, body language, etc. and we are very pleased with our purchase of the lifetime training plan. Thank you Peter! We appreciate YOU!!! Permalink

It was a pleasure to meet you and learn your dog training methods. Rhea is responding well so far. Permalink

Very Informative, learned a lot about how a dog responds. Great knowledgeable trainers, work great at a team. Permalink

Everything that we learned yesterday was very useful, and I am already implementing it with Peaches. I brought what I learned back to my house and now even my kids are helping me so we can all be consistent with Peaches. This morning while I was getting breakfast ready for the kids, Peaches tried jumping on the counter and my kids quickly said : "Baaaahhh" and Peaches got off immediately. Permalink

We adopted Chewy, a 3yro terrier mix, and after several months we knew we needed professional help with Chewy. We contacted Lisa at Barkbusters and she had lots of ideas that we had not yet tried. Chewy definetly responded. She helped with the excessive barking, pulling, and potty training. She always got back to us quickly with answers and suggestions. We also boarded Chewy with Lisa while on a trip and that went well, as Lisa updated us often as to how Chewy was doing. Permalink